The 33-year-old Olympic champion and OBE, who was born in West Bromwich, has been dating the 40-year-old former boss of top girl band All Saints for a year.

They now plan to marry next Easter.

Gold medal heptathlete Denise, a long-standing member of Birmingham's Birchfield Harriers club, announced her retirement from athletics in June.

She reached the pinnacle of her sporting career in 2000 when she took heptathlon gold at the Sydney Olympics.

Mum Denise was Britain's woman athlete of the year in 1996 when she was Britain's only female Olympic athletics medallist. She followed that with a World silver medal in 1997 and double gold at the European and Commonwealth Games in 1998.